Mind Your Language: Memorising Active-Passive Voice rules will help students ace the topic

Unraveling the intricacies of linguistic expression, the exploration of active and passive voice unveils a fundamental facet of English grammar. Active Voice (AV), characterised by directness, casts the subject as the initiator of an action, providing clarity and immediacy. On the flip side, Passive Voice (PV) shifts the focus to the recipient of the action, lending a nuanced tone to communication.

According to Rachna Oberoi, TGT, English at Apeejay School, Mahavir Marg, Active-Passive Voice is a way of expressing the same thing but with different implications. Active Voice (AV) is more direct and makes the subject of the sentence clear. It is used when the subject is the doer of an action. For example: I love flowers.

“Passive Voice (PV) is used when the subject is the receiver of an action. For example, flowers are loved by me,” she shared.

Rules for Active–Passive Voice Conversions

1.       First of all Identify the (S+V+O) Subject, Verb, and object in the active sentence to convert to a passive voice. Example: He drives a car. (Subject – He, verb – Drives, object – Car). Then Interchange the object and subject with each other — the object of the active sentence becomes the subject of the passive sentence. Example: Active voice: She knits a sweater. (Subject – She, Verb – Knits, Object – Sweater). Passive Voice: The sweater is knitted by her. (Object sweater is interchanged with the subject She).

2.       In the passive voice sometimes the subject is not used — the subject in the passive voice can be omitted if the sentence without it gives enough meaning. Example: Milk is sold in litres.

3.       One needs to change the base verb in the active sentence into the past participle — the third form verb in a passive sentence i.e. preceded by (by, with, to,). Base verbs are never used in passive voice sentences. Example: AV: She knows him. PV: He is known to her. AV: Juice fills the jar. PV: The jar is filled with juice.

4.       While converting an Active voice sentence to a Passive voice sentence, the pronoun used in the sentence also changes in the following manner. Example: Active voice pronoun ‘I’ to Me (Passive Voice Pronoun). Similarly — We to us; He to Him; She to Her, and they to them.

5.       Use the suitable helping or auxiliary verb (is/am/are/was). The rules for using auxiliary verbs in passive voice sentences are different for each tense. Example: The letter is written by her, a book was not bought by her, and rest students need to practice the rules.

Importance of the rules

Memorising the rules helps students pass an exam, Oberoi asserts. But apart from that, conceptual understanding is much better than mere memorisation; as it helps students gain knowledge, perspective, and grow. “Understanding concepts will also help them apply that knowledge to real-world situations. The use of concepts is necessary for cognitive processes such as decision-making, learning, and inference. Concepts can be stored in long-term memory in contrast to memory of particular objects and events. So according to me understanding the concept holds more significance,” she said.

Common mistakes to avoid

Oberoi says, there are four common mistakes that students make. The most common error students make when employing an active-passive voice is not using the correct form of the verb. To make a sentence passive, you must use the past tense form of the verb ‘to be’ and the past participle form of the main verb. For example, if you want to make the sentence “The teacher graded my paper,” In passive, you would say “My paper was graded by the teacher”, the educator explained.

Another common mistake students make is using the wrong subject in a sentence. When you convert from active to passive voice, the object of the sentence becomes the subject. For example, if you want to say ‘The teacher graded my paper’, In passive, you would say ‘My paper was graded by the teacher’. The subject (I) becomes the object of the sentence.

“Students also make mistakes with verb tenses when using active-passive voice. In most cases, you should use the present tense in a sentence written in passive voice, unless the sentence is referring to a past event. For example, you would say ‘My paper is graded by the teacher’ but ‘The teacher graded my paper yesterday’,” Oberoi said

Still, another common mistake children make is leaving out the object of the sentence. In active voice, the object is the noun or pronoun that is affected by the action of the verb. “However, in passive voice, the object becomes the subject of the sentence. For example, if you want to say ‘The teacher graded my paper’, In passive, you would say ‘My paper was graded by the teacher’. The object (paper) becomes the subject of the sentence,” Oberoi said in conclusion.